WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
January Edition
Thomas Vanek played 47 games with the New York Islanders before getting traded to Montreal. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
The New York Islanders will be keeping the No. 5 pick in June’s NHL Entry Draft and giving the Buffalo Sabres their first-round selection next year to complete the Thomas Vanek trade, the club announced today.
The Isles had until June 1 to decide.
There had been some speculation the Isles would want to have their 2015 pick for a chance at Connor McDavid, arguably the biggest prospect since Sidney Crosby.
The Sabres now ... Read the full article
The Sabres could draft Sam Reinhart this June. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Chalk up one more loss for the Sabres this season.
The rebuilding club couldn’t retain the No. 1 overall pick during Tuesday’s NHL Draft Lottery in Toronto. Instead, the Florida Panthers moved up one spot to the top selection.
The Sabres will pick second in June. Thanks to their 30th ranking this season, the Sabres had a 25 percent chance of keeping the top pick, more than any other team. The ... Read the full article
Nathan Lieuwen made his NHL debut on Sunday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – A day after his surprising NHL debut, everything had settled down a bit for Sabres rookie Nathan Lieuwen.
Lieuwen said his body felt OK after playing three games in three days, a rarity for a goalie. He even remembered some of the action he faced Sunday. Memories were a blur following his 22-minute, 10-save relief appearance in the Sabres’ 2-0 loss to Montreal.
“I could remember a few more things this ... Read the full article
Nathan Lieuwen watches the play Sunday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Fresh off two weekend appearances with Rochester, goalie Nathan Lieuwen learned early Sunday he had earned his first recall to the Sabres.
Newcomer Michal Neuvirth was injured, so the 22-year-old would be backing up Jhonas Enroth inside the First Niagara Center.
“I was shocked. I was nervous. Everything,” a smiling Lieuwen said after stopping all 10 shots he faced in his NHL debut, a 2-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. “I couldn’t stop ... Read the full article
Thomas Vanek played his first game back in Buffalo on Sunday. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Back in the summer, Thomas Vanek had a simple, straightforward question for the Sabres. The slick winger wanted to know what direction the team was going.
“No one really had an answer,” Vanek said Sunday prior to the Montreal Canadiens’ 2-0 win against Sabres, his first game back here. “That’s when I kind of made up my mind July 1 (unrestricted free agency) was probably a goal of mine.”
The Sabres, of course, ... Read the full article
Nathan Lieuwen will dress tonight. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Former Sabres star Thomas Vanek couldn’t quite explain what he felt walking into the First Niagara Center for the first time as an opponent this afternoon.
“It was actually a different feeling, for sure,” said Vanek, now a member of the Montreal Canadiens. “It’s just I can’t explain it. I felt pretty good all day. As soon as I walked in here I started to get a little of the jitter.”
Vanek, an ... Read the full article
Cory Conacher was never drafted and played in the ECHL briefly. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – There was no straight path to the NHL for Cory Conacher. About 10 years ago, after the AAA Burlington Cougars cut him, the diminutive Sabres winger figured his hockey career was over.
“You always run into a certain coach that just doesn’t like your physical stature,” Conacher recalled Friday, “and that’s kind of I think what happened.”
But the 5-foot-8 Conacher had a chip on his shoulder that would help buoy him ... Read the full article
Steve Ott (9) will be an unrestricted free agent following the season. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The hospitality Steve Ott and his family have experienced from the community has been incredible, the captain said. Win or lose, the locals still love their Sabres.
Of course, the Sabres have done a lot of losing during Ott’s first year here.
The warm welcome and the struggles have left Ott imagining the Sabres’ resurgence. Right now, they’re rebuilding, still the NHL’s worst team.
But the 31-year-old, an unrestricted free agent following the ... Read the full article
Matt Moulson will be an unrestricted free agent following the season. ©2014, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Thirty games into what could be a very short Sabres career, Matt Moulson said he’s given a lot of thought to a future he can’t control yet.
The winger, quietly one of the NHL’s top goal scorers for years, would be coveted as an unrestricted free agent this summer. But before that, if the Sabres want to deal the 30-year-old, he’d be in high demand as a rental prior to the March 5 ... Read the full article
Drew Stafford (left) and Cody Hodgson celebrate the Sabres’ only goal Sunday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Just under eight minutes into the Sabres’ 3-1 loss Sunday, winger Drew Stafford created one of the struggling team’s few highlight-reel goals this season by stealing the puck from Detroit’s Darren Helm above the left circle and dishing to an open Cody Hodgson in the slot.
The center then waited for Jonas Gustavsson to go down before tucking the puck past the outstretched goalie.
It was only the Sabres’ 41st goal in ... Read the full article